WD2000: Troubleshooting Guide for Unwanted Page Breaks

ID: Q233493

The information in this article applies to:

SUMMARY

This article describes how to troubleshoot page breaks that occur in a Word document at unexpected or unwanted locations.

NOTE: It is easier to view page breaks in normal view than print layout view. To switch to normal view, on the View menu, click Normal.


MORE INFORMATION

Check Spacing Before or After the Paragraph

  1. Select the paragraph immediately before or after the unwanted page break.


  2. On the Format menu, click Paragraph.


  3. Click the Indents and Spacing tab, and then check to see whether Spacing Before or Spacing After is set to an unusually high value.


Check the Pagination Options of the Preceding Paragraph

  1. Select the first paragraph on the page following the unwanted page break.


  2. On the Format menu, click Paragraph.


  3. Click the Line and Page Breaks tab.


  4. Check to see whether one of the following three pagination options is selected:


Check the "From Edge" Setting in the Header/Footer Dialog Box

  1. On the File menu, click Page Setup, and then click to select the Margins tab.


  2. Look at the From edge setting for the Header or Footer to see whether it is too large.


NOTE: This setting determines the distance from the edge of the page where Word starts printing the text of a header or footer. The default setting is 0.5 inch. A larger setting decreases the available print area for your document.

Check to See Whether the Text Following the Page Break Is in a Table

Word includes an option that does not allow a page break to be inserted in a table cell. As a result, if the entire cell does not fit on the page, Word pushes the entire cell to the next page.

To change this option:

  1. Place the insertion point in the table.


  2. On the Table menu, click Table Properties.


  3. Click the Row tab.


  4. Click to select the Allow row to break across pages check box.


This sets the page break option for the entire table.

Search for Manual (or "Hard") Page Breaks

You may have inserted a manual page break by using one of the following methods:
You can use the Replace command to remove manual page breaks by searching for manual page breaks.

NOTE: Do not click the Replace All button when you remove manual page breaks unless your document contains no section breaks.

Check for Unexpected Page Breaks Following "Normal" Style Text

If a series of Heading styles is used in a document (an outline, for example) followed by text formatted with the Normal style, an unexpected page break may occur following the Normal text. This problem occurs only in normal view and does not occur in outline view. Use one of the following methods to remove individual occurrences of an unwanted page break.

Method 1: Apply the "Keep with Next" Option to Normal Text:

  1. Select the Normal text.


  2. On the Format menu, click Paragraph.


  3. Click the Line and Page Breaks tab, and then click to select Keep with next.


  4. Click OK.


Method 2: Clear the "Keep with Next" Option from the Heading:

  1. Select the Heading text that precedes the Normal text.


  2. On the Format menu, click Paragraph.


  3. Click the Line and Page Breaks tab, and then click to clear Keep with next.


  4. Click OK.


Method 3: Permanently Change the Occurrence of Unwanted Page Breaks:

  1. On the Format menu, click Style.


  2. In the List list box, click All styles.


  3. In the Styles list, click Heading 1.


  4. Click Modify.


  5. Click Format, and then click Paragraph.


  6. Click the Line and Page Breaks tab.


  7. Click to clear Keep with next, and then click OK.


  8. To make the change permanent for the current document and all new documents based on the active template, click to select Add to template. Otherwise, the changes you make will only affect the current document.


  9. Click OK and then click Close.


Additional query words: 


Keywords          : kbdta wd2000 
Version           : WINDOWS:2000
Platform          : WINDOWS 
Issue type        : kbinfo

Last Reviewed: May 28, 1999